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SpaceX readies test dummy for milestone launch

SpaceX Crew Dragon
An artist’s conception shows a Crew Dragon docking with the International Space Station. (SpaceX / NASA Illustration)

NASA gave the all-clear today for the first test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship to the International Space Station in a week, setting the stage for crewed missions later this year.

There won’t be any crew aboard this first Crew Dragon, also known as the Dragon 2, but there will be an instrument-laden, spacesuit-wearing mannequin sitting in one of the seats, to provide data about the environment that astronauts will experience.

“Should I say ‘dummy,’ is that the right word?” Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of mission assurance, asked during a briefing for reporters at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“ATD, ATD,” said Kathy Lueders, program manager for NASA’s commercial crew program. “We prefer to not call them dummies.” (For the record, ATD stands for Anthropomorphic Test Device or Anthropomorphic Test Dummy.)

There’ll also be a load of cargo to be sent up to the station from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, at 2:48 a.m. ET March 2 (11:48 p.m. PT March 1). Lueders said the total mass would be “pretty close” to what the Dragon 2 will carry when astronauts climb aboard.

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SpaceX and Boeing space taxi trips delayed … again

SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s Starliner capsule and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft. (NASA Graphic)

NASA says the flight test schedule for space taxis designed by SpaceX and Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station has been stretched out further, as expected.

And it wouldn’t be surprising if additional postponements occur in the coming weeks and months.

The schedule announced today calls for SpaceX to launch its Crew Dragon capsule from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on an uncrewed demonstration flight to the station on March 2.

Boeing, meanwhile, aims to send an uncrewed Starliner space capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the station no earlier than April.

Each of those time frames is roughly a month later than the schedule laid out last November, and each is subject to further change.

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SpaceX’s Dragon splashes down in the dark

SpaceX Dragon
SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo ship is released by the International Space Station’s robotic arm. (NASA Photo)

SpaceX’s robotic Dragon cargo ship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean tonight, bringing science experiments and used hardware from the International Space Station back to Earth after dark.

The Dragon delivered nearly 3 tons of food, supplies and experiments to the stationon Dec. 8, and it took more than four weeks to unload the cargo and reload the Dragon with payloads for the return trip. NASA delayed the Dragon’s descent by several days due to concerns about weather in the recovery area.

The station’s robotic arm released the Dragon at 3:33 p.m. PT, and the craft parachuted to its splashdown just before 9:15 p.m. SpaceX’s recovery ship headed to the scene to pull the Dragon out of the sea and bring it back to port in California.

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SpaceX booster gets dunked after launch

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, sending a Dragon cargo ship into orbit. (NASA Photo)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent a robotic Dragon cargo capsule into orbit today from Florida to deliver 5,600 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station, just two days after a different Falcon 9 launched 64 satellites from a pad across the country.

The primary mission was an undeniable hit, but this time around, SpaceX’s attempt to have the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster touch down on a landing pad was a miss.

Today’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station might have come even sooner if it weren’t for some moldy mouse food.

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Boeing and SpaceX reset space taxi tests for 2019

Dragon and Starliner
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner are being developed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA. (SpaceX / Boeing Illustrations)

NASA says we’ll have to wait until 2019 to see the first orbital tests of the space taxis that are being built by SpaceX and Boeing for trips to the International Space Station.

The schedule shift was laid out Oct. 4 in an online update.

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SpaceX Dragon cargo ship returns to Earth

The International Space Station’s crew sent a Dragon back to Earth today, filled with more than 3,800 pounds of scientific samples and equipment. SpaceX’s robotic Dragon cargo capsule had been hooked up to the station for just over a month, providing plenty of time for the crew to unload shipments from Earth and then load it back up for the return trip.

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NASA names 9 astronauts for first space taxi trips

Space taxi crews
The crews for the first four flights on SpaceX and Boeing space taxis wave to the cameras after their introduction at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. (NASA via YouTube)

NASA unveiled the first nine astronauts for its commercial crew missions to the International Space Station today, including rookies as well as seasoned veterans.

The “New Nine” include two women and seven men. All but one of them are current NASA astronauts. The ninth spaceflier is Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson, who flew three space shuttle missions (including the last one, as commander) and now works on Boeing’s Starliner program.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine introduced the astronauts during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Texas that was attended by members of Congress and other VIPs.

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NASA confirms new schedule for space taxis

Dragon capsules
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship docking with the International Space Station, plus a cargo-carrying version of the Dragon in the foreground. (SpaceX Illustration via NASA)

NASA today laid out a newly stretched-out schedule for flying astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil, with SpaceX’s first such flight set for no earlier than next April.

The space agency also confirmed Boeing’s plan to put off its first crewed space taxi mission until mid-2019, and geared up to announce who’d be on the first space taxi flights for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as well as Boeing’s Starliner.

Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson, who commanded NASA’s last space shuttle mission in 2011, appears to be a sure thing for the first Starliner crew, based on advance reports. Other crew members for the first flights are likely to include four astronauts selected back in 2015: Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Doug Hurley and Sunita Williams.

NASA is due to live-stream the announcement from Johnson Space Center in Texas at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) Aug. 3, with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine presiding.

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SpaceX Crew Dragon arrives in Florida for test flight

SpaceX Crew Dragon
Technicians check out the Crew Dragon capsule in Florida after the completion of thermal vacuum and acoustic testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio. (SpaceX via Instagram)

After months of testing, a SpaceX Dragon capsule that’s designed to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station has arrived in Florida, marking a significant step toward this summer’s scheduled test launch.

Even though the vehicle is called a “Crew Dragon,” this Dragon won’t carry crew on its first flight. Instead, it’s due to make an uncrewed practice run to the space station during what’s known as Demonstration Mission 1, or DM-1.

Before this week’s shipment to Florida, the Dragon underwent thermal vacuum tests as well as acoustic tests at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Today SpaceX showed off a picture of the Crew Dragon, which is a redesigned, beefed-up version of its robotic cargo-carrying Dragon, via Twitter and Instagram.

NASA’s current schedule calls for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch the DM-1 mission next month from Kennedy Space Center. However, that schedule is dependent not only on the pace of preparations, but also on the timetable for station arrivals and departures.

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Science-laden cargo ship reaches space station

Three days after its launch, SpaceX’s robotic Dragon cargo capsule is now attached to the International Space Station. Astronauts used the station’s robotic arm to capture the spaceship at 3:54 a.m. PT today and pull it in for its berthing. Over the course of the next month, the crew will unload nearly three tons of supplies and science experiments — including a free-flying, AI-enabled robotic companion called CIMON, an apparatus for cultivating space algae and dozens of student experiments.

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